Lead Story
Australia's High Court blocks coal mine expansion in landmark climate ruling
Australia's High Court ruled on October 7 against an expansion of the Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales, run by Mach Energy, in what campaigners and legal observers describe as the first climate change case to reach the country's top court. Three of the five judges found that planning authorities had not properly ensured the project's emissions, including those from burning the coal after export, were minimised, and the court dismissed Mach Energy's appeal against an earlier NSW Court of Appeal decision. Campaigners say the ruling sets a binding precedent requiring climate harm to be weighed against fossil fuel projects nationwide, with potential implications for 17 other coal proposals in the planning pipeline, though the expansion itself could still be reassessed and resubmitted by state authorities.
Read more →Lead Story
Australia's High Court blocks coal mine expansion in landmark climate ruling
Australia's High Court ruled on October 7 against an expansion of the Mount Pleasant coal mine in New South Wales, run by Mach Energy, in what campaigners and legal observers describe as the first climate change case to reach the country's top court. Three of the five judges found that planning authorities had not properly ensured the project's emissions, including those from burning the coal after export, were minimised, and the court dismissed Mach Energy's appeal against an earlier NSW Court of Appeal decision. Campaigners say the ruling sets a binding precedent requiring climate harm to be weighed against fossil fuel projects nationwide, with potential implications for 17 other coal proposals in the planning pipeline, though the expansion itself could still be reassessed and resubmitted by state authorities.
Scientists discover 'Pac-Man' enzyme that breaks down bioplastics in soil
Researchers at the University of Konstanz, publishing in The ISME Journal on September 2, identified a bacterial enzyme with an unusually wide, open active site, nicknamed the "Pac-Man enzyme," that can break down certain polyester bioplastics. The team, led by Harry Lerner and David Schleheck, buried thin films of long-chain aliphatic polyester bioplastics in soil in the university's botanical garden for more than a year and tracked microbial carbon dioxide output in parallel lab tests; two of the bioplastic variants were nearly fully biodegraded within eight to ten months, while ordinary polyethylene produced only negligible breakdown. The findings suggest soil microorganisms can adapt to degrade engineered plastics faster than previously assumed, offering a potential route to designing bioplastics that break down reliably in the environment, though the researchers also flagged that the same enzyme can disable some antibiotics.
Read more →Scientists discover 'Pac-Man' enzyme that breaks down bioplastics in soil
Researchers at the University of Konstanz, publishing in The ISME Journal on September 2, identified a bacterial enzyme with an unusually wide, open active site, nicknamed the "Pac-Man enzyme," that can break down certain polyester bioplastics. The team, led by Harry Lerner and David Schleheck, buried thin films of long-chain aliphatic polyester bioplastics in soil in the university's botanical garden for more than a year and tracked microbial carbon dioxide output in parallel lab tests; two of the bioplastic variants were nearly fully biodegraded within eight to ten months, while ordinary polyethylene produced only negligible breakdown. The findings suggest soil microorganisms can adapt to degrade engineered plastics faster than previously assumed, offering a potential route to designing bioplastics that break down reliably in the environment, though the researchers also flagged that the same enzyme can disable some antibiotics.
Five countries recognized for eliminating major diseases across the Americas
The Pan American Health Organization announced on September 29 that five countries and territories had been certified, validated, or verified by WHO for eliminating a disease as a public health problem over the past year. Brazil, the world's most populous country to do so, ended mother-to-child transmission of HIV; the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands were also recognized for ending mother-to-child HIV transmission, with the Turks and Caicos also validated for eliminating mother-to-child hepatitis B transmission; Chile was validated for eliminating dog-mediated rabies transmission; and El Salvador became the first country in Central America validated for eliminating trachoma, a leading infectious cause of blindness. PAHO framed the achievements as proof that sustained, targeted public health investment can eliminate diseases that have burdened the region for generations.
Read more →Five countries recognized for eliminating major diseases across the Americas
The Pan American Health Organization announced on September 29 that five countries and territories had been certified, validated, or verified by WHO for eliminating a disease as a public health problem over the past year. Brazil, the world's most populous country to do so, ended mother-to-child transmission of HIV; the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands were also recognized for ending mother-to-child HIV transmission, with the Turks and Caicos also validated for eliminating mother-to-child hepatitis B transmission; Chile was validated for eliminating dog-mediated rabies transmission; and El Salvador became the first country in Central America validated for eliminating trachoma, a leading infectious cause of blindness. PAHO framed the achievements as proof that sustained, targeted public health investment can eliminate diseases that have burdened the region for generations.
Long-term data show gene therapy provides sustained benefit for rare immune disorder
A study published September 28 found that lentiviral gene therapy produced sustained clinical benefit in people with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare inherited immune disorder that leaves patients prone to severe infections, bleeding, eczema, and autoimmune disease. Drawing on a combined cohort of 27 patients from phase 1-2, phase 3, and expanded-access studies, researchers found the benefits held up over years of follow-up, reinforcing earlier trial results and supporting gene therapy as a durable alternative to traditional stem cell transplants, which carry a risk of graft-versus-host disease and require a matched donor that many patients lack. The therapy works by correcting a patient's own blood stem cells outside the body before reinfusing them, avoiding the need for a donor altogether.
Read more →Long-term data show gene therapy provides sustained benefit for rare immune disorder
A study published September 28 found that lentiviral gene therapy produced sustained clinical benefit in people with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare inherited immune disorder that leaves patients prone to severe infections, bleeding, eczema, and autoimmune disease. Drawing on a combined cohort of 27 patients from phase 1-2, phase 3, and expanded-access studies, researchers found the benefits held up over years of follow-up, reinforcing earlier trial results and supporting gene therapy as a durable alternative to traditional stem cell transplants, which carry a risk of graft-versus-host disease and require a matched donor that many patients lack. The therapy works by correcting a patient's own blood stem cells outside the body before reinfusing them, avoiding the need for a donor altogether.
Laos establishes vast new national park to protect endangered saola and Annamite wildlife
The government of Laos issued a decree on August 7 establishing the 217,400-hectare Nam Mouane-Phou Chomvoy National Park in Bolikhamxay Province, protecting a globally significant stretch of the Annamite mountain range and creating a transboundary conservation corridor with Vietnam, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced. The new park strengthens legal protection for forests, wildlife, aquatic species, and watersheds, and bans unauthorized land occupation and illegal resource extraction within its boundaries. It safeguards habitat for the critically endangered saola, one of the world's rarest large mammals, and other threatened Annamite species, while recognizing the customary land use of 29 villages whose communities WCS says were consulted throughout the planning process.
Read more →Laos establishes vast new national park to protect endangered saola and Annamite wildlife
The government of Laos issued a decree on August 7 establishing the 217,400-hectare Nam Mouane-Phou Chomvoy National Park in Bolikhamxay Province, protecting a globally significant stretch of the Annamite mountain range and creating a transboundary conservation corridor with Vietnam, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced. The new park strengthens legal protection for forests, wildlife, aquatic species, and watersheds, and bans unauthorized land occupation and illegal resource extraction within its boundaries. It safeguards habitat for the critically endangered saola, one of the world's rarest large mammals, and other threatened Annamite species, while recognizing the customary land use of 29 villages whose communities WCS says were consulted throughout the planning process.